


When the Petals Fall

by BlueLionWrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Battle Scenes, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fairies, Fairy Battle, First Kiss, Galra Empire, Injury Recovery, King Shiro (Voltron), Lance accidentally adopts a kid, M/M, Made-Up Fairy Mating Rituals, Magic, Magic-Users, Magical Kingdoms, Prince Lance (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Seelie Court, Seelie Lance, Shance Flower Exchange 2019, Shiro the Hero, Time Skips, Unseelie Court, Unseelie Shiro, Violets & Daffodils, as usual, warrior lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 20:46:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18836467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueLionWrites/pseuds/BlueLionWrites
Summary: As a child, Prince Lance was privy to the legends of the fearsome Unseelie Fae that ruled over what was now known as the Raven’s Keep; it was once a mighty kingdom of towering stone castles overgrown with ivy as black as sin. A thousand years later, a new threat has invaded the Seelie Kingdom of Helianthus and Lance must fight to protect his homeland. When he’s injured in battle and separated from his people, Lance is rescued by an unlikely saviour.





	When the Petals Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BlackKatJinx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackKatJinx/gifts).



> This is my gift to BlackKatJinx for the Shance Flower Exchange of 2019!! I hope you like it lovely ♥
> 
> ((I’m honestly praying this isn’t a complete and utter trainwreck, fingers crossed ya'll))

_As a child, Lance would sit for hours in the Great Library, reading the legends and the histories of the Great War and why it had begun. History claims that it was a feud born of bad blood; two families that were destined to hate one another from the time of their creation until the end of eternity. The Unseelie were caught sending spies into the Seelie Realm, in an attempt to overthrow the Seelie Queen and take control of all four Faerie Courts, a move that prompted a war so fierce it became known as the Great War._

_The legends were simply tales of beautiful heartache and wonder, stories to be told around campfires and under the covers as gossiping younglings. One legend says that the Great War was born from the feud between the Seelie Princess and the Unseelie King that were once lovers; torn apart by a deep betrayal. The Seelie Princess had her heart broken when she found the Unseelie King was betrothed to another and launched an attack against the Unseelie Court in retaliation. The legend says that the attack was so swift and brutal that the Unseelie Fae fled in shame at the easy defeat, slinking into the darkness, never to be heard from again._

_Another legend says that the Blue Lion, a guardian spirit that protects the Seelie folk, sent a vision to the Seelie Queen, telling her of the treacherous plot against her kingdom, urging her to fight for She would protect them in their war against their enemy._

_Lance found each tale as precious as the one before, pouring over them until he knew every legend by heart. Each one was a gem he kept cradled to his chest- a secret aspiration to one day be the hero of his own story, one that would someday become legend written about in the books that filled the Great Library like so many of his kin before him._

~

“ATTACK!” Lance shouted, eyes glinting menacingly as he thrust his spear skyward. The troops hollered in response, their battle cries echoing throughout the glen and each beat of their wings drove them higher with the sound of a thousand thundering horses. When they reached the optimum height they twisted in mid air and dove. Swooping from their positions with fierce speed and weapons drawn against the enemy that threatened their land, invading like an unstoppable sickness that swept through all four corners of the faerie kingdom. 

A new breed of Fae called the Durus Viola had emerged in the time after the Great War between the Seelie and the Unseelie Courts; purple fur covering their massive bodies, gnarled teeth and grotesque tusks curling from their lower lips and their eyes glinting like citrines. Their wings, like clouded glass in as many shades of grey as a thunderstorm, were torn in places; massive slashes and scars decorating each one like badges of honour and the weapons they held were nothing but shards of warped iron that they held with no harm to their being, stolen from the blacksmiths of the neighbouring villages that encircled the edges of the Seelie Court. 

Lance led his army downward, exploding from their formation and raining down on the enemy like acid; slashing and slicing their way to the ground. Before Lance could land safely, one of the Durus grabbed his ankle as he prepared to land, throwing him with incredible force across the glen and into the tree line. Lance grinned darkly as he corrected course, taking a knee as he landed. He sauntered from the trees, his magic flowing through him like water as his veins began to glow green. 

He took to the sky, summoning his magic from within as his entire body began to exude light and the same green bled into his eyes. He was terrifying in this form; skin glowing an ethereal green, veins lit up and eyes completely clouded over as his magic took hold. He plummeted towards the ground with a fierce cry, slamming his palms to the ground and watching with feral pride as the earth rumbled beneath his hands and vines as thick as trees with barbs as sharp as steel sprouted from its depths, twisting around the Durus like snakes and turning their bones to dust. More attacked, preoccupied with hacking through his vines with unrefined technique to attack his soldiers. Lance smirked and shot upwards, agile wings easily lifting him into the canopy of the trees as his eyes cleared.

He watched for a moment as his warriors used their own magic to attack; the glen rapidly filling with poisonous flowers that were harmless to the Seelie, sending the Durus mad as the pollen expelled from the blooms, blinding them and Venus Fly Traps the size of houses, with a particular hungering for the enemy, snatched them up one by one and snapped shut around them. 

Lance conjured his bow and quiver and nocked an arrow, each arrowhead was soaked in a specially made concoction of foxglove and monkshood that Lance had designed himself; it was absolutely deadly to anyone that came into contact with it. He took aim at the leader of the invaders and released, watching it fly through the air and pierce his thigh.

As the leader fell to his knees, Lance loosed more and more arrows, letting them rain onto his opponents. He conjured shields around his own warriors with a quick flick of his wrist, protecting them from the lethal poison in case he missed his target, not that he ever would of course. Lance took to the skies, scanning for the deserters that had fled the battle when a sudden pain ricocheted throughout his entire body. 

He looked down; groaning at the sight of the arrow that had pierced his side, it was iron tipped and had sliced through his armour like it was nothing. The veins around the area were already turning black and his skin burned like fire licked across his every nerve. The longer the arrow stayed, the worse it would become, so with a shout of pain he pulled the arrow free and slipped it into his quiver, grabbing one of his own arrows and letting it loose on the archer as he began to loose consciousness. 

Iron may have been harmless to the Durus Viola but it was deadly to Seelie and Unseelie alike, Lance could tell the arrow had missed everything important but it hurt worse than any injury he had ever sustained in battle. Lance’s wings seized and he approached the ground with speed, hitting the water of a nearby river, deep enough to break his fall. He could barely swim, vision fading in and out as he clawed his way to the rivers edge and pulled himself ashore, wings too waterlogged to fly and twitching weakly.

The sky grew dark, storm clouds rolling in and thunder booming as hands clasped beneath his underarms, pulling him the rest of the way from the water. He heard unintelligible shouting and then hands were tearing away his armour and undershirt to check the damage. Bolts of lightning echoed like gunshots as the darkness encroached further. 

“Stay with me. Stay with me” he heard a voice say but he could no longer fight against the darkness, letting it take him. 

~

Lance felt like he’d spent three days on a binge of nothing but Hunk’s specialty wildberry nectar, his mouth felt like it was filled with cottonballs and his head spun like a spinning top. His eyes fluttered open slowly, trying to gain his bearings, only to be surrounded by nothing but darkness. A panicked sob escaped his throat as he tried to move, unable to see and a deep ache radiated from his side. 

“Easy, easy. You’re alright” a soothing voice sounded, a cool hand stroking his sweat-damp hair away from his face with gentle movements, so as not to startle the boy further.

Lance quieted, heart racing as his eyes began to adjust to the pitch darkness. He couldn’t make out much, save for the vague outlines of some faeries. He clutched the hand of whoever sat beside him and hauled himself upright, rolling onto his knees he let his magic encompass him, taking away the deep ache in his bones as it flowed through his veins like a soothing balm. It would take days before he was back to full strength but he could, at the very least, do this. His palms began to glow, the same ethereal green as earlier shining through his fingers as he pressed his palms to the cool ground of what must’ve been a cave. 

Lightning bolts of green shot out in every direction, crawling up the walls and leaving bioluminescent fungi in their wake; bathing the cave in a soft, green glow [(X)](https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/phys.org/news/2015-06-fungi-green-chemical-basis-bioluminescence.amp). Excited murmurs came from every direction, drowning out his thoughts as the other Fae came closer to him, clearly excited by his display as their wings ruffled and their voices grew louder. 

“How’d you do that?” a small child’s voice asked curiously, crawling closer to Lance and pressing her own small palms to Lance’s in awe. 

Lance smiled in the dim light, letting his magic flow through him once more as he clasped the girls hand gently between his own. When he pulled them away, a vibrant pink lotus was left in his place, glowing faintly with the remnants of his magic. He would need to recharge before doing any more magic for a while, the arrow having taken more of a toll than he’d initially thought.

He looked around as the glow of the fungi became brighter, looking over his saviours and eyes widening.

“You’re Unseelie Fae” he exclaimed in shock, a bewildered laugh leaving his throat. 

~

A pregnant pause overcame the cave, the faeries all falling silent in confusion.

“You say that like it’s some sort of shock” a raven-haired Fae with violet eyes growled lowly, wings bristling behind him.

“True Unseelie haven’t been seen anywhere in the Kingdom for over a thousand years… Not since the Great War” Lance snapped back, a disgruntled frown twisting his features. 

“But… that’s not possible…” another fairy exclaimed. 

“You have no idea what’s going on out there, do you?” Lance asked; awaiting a response that would disprove his suspicions but receiving nothing in return save for stark silence. 

“After the Great War, the Unseelie King fled with his members of his court while my people fought against the previous King, Zarkon, and his forces. We drove them back time and time again but with each battle the Unseelie Fae began to change; sprouting purple fur, tusks and talons, yellow eyes… we now call them the Durus Viola”, Lance paused, debating whether to continue, “Our stealth missions concluded that Zarkon was injecting them with some sort of modified elixir and whatever was left of your people were turned into mindless beasts that have now overrun the Unseelie Courts of Autumn and Winter and threaten to do the same to my Kingdom”.

“It… that can’t be possible” a woman’s voice cried out in anguish.

“I was once King of the Unseelie” a voice to Lance’s right said solemnly, “We were outcast by my father, King Zarkon, when I rebelled against him. My people were dying in an unnecessary war and I couldn’t sit by while they perished, while they’re children perished. I fled, taking as many fae with me as I could when we went into hiding… many of us died along the way so now, we are all that is left. We fled here to the Ruins of Atramento and have been in hiding ever since, too weak to fight… we didn’t know how much time had passed” the King trailed off, shame and anguish cutting through him like knives. 

~

“I never thanked you for rescuing me, your highness” Lance chimed, following Shiro down the winding side of the craggy cliff face that led from the cave he had awoken in and into a deep canyon. 

“Please, I have done nothing to deserve that title. Just call me Shiro” the Unseelie said kindly, offering Lance a soft smile before continuing through the winding path, leading Lance with determined strides.

“Shiro it is then” Lance said warmly, tasting the words on his tongue, “I’m Lance, by the way”.

Soon they emerged into a vast opening, Lance’s eyes filling with wonder at the sight of the orange cliff face densely covered in places with vibrant green moss. Water poured straight from the cliffs edge into a turquoise pool and trees hugged the side of the pool, protecting anyone from prying eyes as they came here to bathe [(X)](https://www.mygrandcanyonpark.com/things-to-do/waterfalls-grand-canyon). 

Lance hissed out a curse between his teeth as he inched his shirt away from his burnt skin, chest heaving as tanned skin was revealed. He tossed the shirt onto one of the rocks that lined the pool’s edge and pulled the corded band that held his trousers up, letting the fabric slip down mile-long legs. With a blush high on his cheeks and hands covering his modesty, Lance slipped into the cool water, letting his muscles relax while waiting for the sting in his side to settle.

“I can clean your wound while we’re here, if that would be alright” Shiro uttered, a questioning lilt to his tone. Lance stopped and gave a short nod, wading over and standing in the shallows, his back to the King patiently waiting as a handful of soft moss dabbed at his wound, the cool water feeling like heaven on his heated skin.

A steadying hand found its way to Lance’s hip, sending shivers down his spine, as the moss traveled along his shoulders and down between his wings which fluttered under the gentle ministrations. He could feel Shiro’s warm breath on the back of his neck as gentle strokes washed away sweat and grime with touches far too tender for such calloused hands. 

Shiro inhaled sharply and stepped back, shattering whatever spell had befallen him, “Come on, it’ll be dusk soon. We need to get back”.

~

As the days bled into weeks, Lance’s injury had almost healed entirely; it no longer caused him pain nor hindered his magic and he was flying as well as always… yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He missed his family, his friends and his kingdom with every fibre of his being but with each day that passed, he found himself falling a little more in love with Shiro and being in his presence eased the ache like a soothing balm. 

It was hard not to fall for Shiro; he loved his people so much and would do anything in his power to protect them. He had already sacrificed everything; rebelled against his own father, abandoned his title and all the luxuries he could ever bask in, just to protect his people from a war his father was too prideful to cease fighting in. Shiro spent his days gathering food, travelling for miles to fish in the river that kissed the border between the human and faerie realms and picking what little fruit was left from the trees in the orchard that had survived the passage of time just to keep them alive. 

When day broke and Lance exited the cave, he stretched his wings wide, flying to the very top of the cliffs with only a few beats of his wings, in order to explore the Ruins. Atramento was stationed atop the cliffs that made up the western border of both the Seelie and Unseelie realms, marking the very edge of both Courts. The lords of the castle were a neutral party in charge of keeping the peace along the border that divided the faerie realms with no true alliance. 

Atramento was once a prospering kingdom rich with quality gemstones mined from the caves that were hidden deep within the caves hidden in the nooks and crannies of the cliffs the castle sat atop. The fae were caught unprepared as greed-driven humans invaded their land, seeking to capture and sell the young faeries, destroying the castle foundations until it fell and burning down the village, the gardens and the mighty orchard. The fae that had managed to escape the attack took refuge in Helianthus, the Kingdom of the royal family of the Seelie Court and the Raven’s Keep, the Kingdom of the royal family of the Unseelie Court. 

Part of what made Atramento famous was their arena; champion fighters from all over the Seelie and Unseelie kingdoms were invited to show their skills to an audience, fighting against one another with no ill-intent. The history that demanded the two Courts hate one another, bled away so the faeries could show their skills before the Lords and Ladies of Atramento and now it too was in ruins. Each piece of stone was half buried, thousands of years of sedimentation slowly swallowing them up and the remnants jutted from the earth like stone beasts emerging from the surface of the great sea. 

Lance clambered over the castle ruins with agile ease, crossing the stretch of lawn between it and the gardens that housed the orchards. Lance could almost feel the phantom presence of the trees that had once grown there as he walked amongst the rows of overgrown weeds that had since grown in place of the centuries old fruit trees that had been burnt to ash in the attack. The orchard had supposedly once fed the entire Kingdom and now it was nothing but weeds save for the few trees that had managed to survive, even thousands of years later. 

He felt the flow of magic rush through his veins as an orb of pure light formed between his palms, growing in size the further apart he pulled his hands. Lance took to the sky, hovering above the centre of the orchard until the orb grew to the desired size. With a clap as loud as thunder, Lance slammed his palms together, shattering the orb into a million pieces. 

His eyes cleared of the green mist as he watched the droplets fall to the ground, watching as it rained down on the orchard. In place of the droplets that had fallen to the ground, grew row upon row of seedlings; each one twisting towards the sky and growing in size before his eyes. Their bark forming, the branches unfurling and sprouting vibrant green leaves and soon red and green apples, mangoes, mulberries, all plentiful, hung from the branches, ready to be picked.

Lance landed softly on the ground, startling at the loud whoops and cheers that echoed behind him. He spun around, shocked at the gathering of Unseelie that had heard presumably heard the orb shatter and had come to investigate, staying to watch. Shiro’s eyes were glassy as he crossed the distance between them and pulled Lance into a bone-crushing hug. 

“You have no idea how grateful I am for this, Lance” he whispered against Lance’s hair. Lance sighed softly and wrapped his arms around Shiro in turn, letting himself bask in Shiro’s comforting embrace for just a moment. 

~ 

On the morning of his sixth week with the Unseelie, Lance awoke to the sound of lively music wafting through the mouth of the cave. He hauled himself to his feet and padded over to the edge, wings beating lazily until he reached the top of the cliffs and found them. He folded his arms as he joined the circle, standing beside the raven-haired fae whose name he hadn’t quite caught yet, a grin lighting up his face as he watched Shiro laughing and dancing with the little girl he had met the day he’d woken up.

They held hands as they spun around, lifting off the ground for but a moment before landing and jumping around again. The girl was giggling, a big grin on her face as Shiro twirled her around and dipped her. Pairs of faeries all joined in, dancing to the music with cheerful grins. Shiro spotted Lance and offered him a hand that he took without question. The little girl darted off to sit beside an elderly woman while Lance lifted his chin, quickly becoming lost in Shiro’s eyes.

A blush stained his cheeks as their fingers interlaced and Shiro pulled Lance closer to him, their chests less than a hairsbreadth from touching. Everything around them slipped away as their wings spread in unison, Lance coveting the chance to take in the beauty of Shiro’s wings as they arched high above his head, the very tips of his hindwings almost brushing the ground as they opened to reveal their true glory. Each wing was as black as onyx, fractured with the ashen grey of storm clouds and the vibrant purple of amethyst with jagged edges and small holes torn through the fragile membrane from the harsh life he had lived. 

Lance’s own wings were vastly different; six of them in total that curved from his shoulder blades like lilac leaves, each one ending in a fine point. His wings were as clear as glass, appearing for the most part entirely see through. But, as he stretched his wings to their full width and the sunlight hit them, they looked like suncatchers, refracting light from every angle and dappling the ground in rainbows.

They took to the sky without so much as a single breath, their eyes focused on nothing but each other, legs entwining around one another’s as their dance begun. They gained more and more height until the music could no longer be heard and the world below was nothing but a blur of colour. The tips of their forewings curved towards the others, touching gently. It was enough, a spark of Lance’s magic travelled through Shiro and in turn Shiro’s own magic, that had been repressed for so long, was revealed to Lance. It was the most intimate display any faerie could express to a potential mate, showing a deep trust to their partner without any words to be spoken. 

They were unable to resist the urge any longer, eyes fluttering shut as their lips met, soft and yielding to one another with the ease of breathing as they flew higher and higher until the curve of the earth could be seen. As the kiss deepened, Lance gasped like he’d been shocked, eyes flying open as white lightning crackled up Shiro’s wings from the base at his spine and split the sky with an almighty roar.

“Will you fall with me, Lance?” Shiro asked softly against Lance’s lips, the fear of rejection laced heavily through his tone.

“Of course I will, Shiro”.

Seelie or Unseelie, the dance was sacred to the fae. When two faeries, together in unison, fell towards the earth, trusting the other not to let them hit the ground, it was the forming of an unbreakable bond.

Lance interlaced their fingers; tucking his wings as close to his body as he could and watching Shiro do the same. The wind whipped at his skin and his hair was probably an unruly mess but even as they began to fall, Lance felt no fear. In those moments, there was only him and Shiro falling together. Lance couldn’t control his magic, he felt it wash over him and soon his skin was aglow with the show of a powerful spell he would unwittingly cast, he peered at Shiro through a green fog, watching as Shiro’s own magic manifested itself in a vibrant purple glow. 

As the earth drew close, Shiro’s wings unfurled, catching on a powerful gust of wind and turning them upright. He pulled Lance to his chest and they stayed there, cradled against one another until it was time to land, spinning through the air in a blur of green and purple light until, with one moment left, Lance’s own wings unfurled, stopping their decent entirely. They stayed there, hovering above the ground, lost within each other.

Shiro fell first, hitting the ground with a spell so powerful that purple lightning ricocheted across the sky; Lance fell not a moment after, his own magic ricocheting across the earth. When they returned to themselves, and the fog that covered their eyes dissipated, Lance could do no more than gasp; the entire cliff top was a sea of purple violets _(True Love)_.

~

As the sun began to set and the sky changed from golds and pinks to a deep blue, the Unseelie ventured to the top of the cliffs, in a non-violet covered area, setting up a roaring fire to cook the fish that Shiro had caught earlier that day. Lance sat cross-legged, towards the outskirts, furthest from the flames, lost deep in thought when a tug on his shirt drew his attention away from the daydream he was lost in. He turned his head to look at whoever wanted his attention; the same little girl he had given the lotus to. Without a word, she crawled into Lance’s lap, sitting on his crossed calves with a cheeky grin and her head tucked up under his chin. 

She looked to be about six in human years, with short red hair and little wings the colour of lavender flowers and he welcomed her with open arms. With a wave of his fingers, Lance conjured some small pink anemones, making them dance through the air in a circle above her head; they jumped and twirled, making the girl giggle delightedly as she tried to grab them. She waited patiently as Lance stood to collect some of the food that was offered and an extra helping for the girl. 

Shiro sat beside Lance, watching with a smile as he made the flowers dance before their eyes. The girl jumped up and began to chase the flowers, trying to nab just one of them from the air, her laughter ringing through the air like small bells.

“Her name is Merla” Shiro’s voice said softly, taking a seat beside Lance, his wings brushing against Lance’s own in a show of intimacy reserved only for lovers. “She’s barely spoken a word to anyone since we fled the Raven’s Keep. Her parents were killed on their stoop while trying to escape and I found Merla hidden in a saddle bag by the door of her house. We’ve done what we can but she’s really seems to trust you. Everyone here does” Shiro smiles warmly as Lance blushes.

~

Once night had truly fallen and the moon was high in the sky, Lance unrolled his blanket in preparation to sleep, his eyes drawn to the beautiful king that had captured his heart as he helped the elders prepare their own beds for the night. Shiro, feeling eyes on him, looked up, meeting Lance’s gaze with one of his own. As he finished and bade the Unseelie goodnight, Shiro unrolled his own blanket, lying down beside Lance and opening his arms for the Seelie to snuggle against him. 

“Shiro? You should live in Helianthus with me. You wouldn’t have to be in hiding from your Father any longer, you could be happy…” Lance trailed off into a whisper, not wanting to disturb the other faeries. 

“We’re Unseelie, Lance... we’ll never truly belong in Helianthus. You know as well as I do that faerie laws are absolute about intermixing Seelie and Unseelie” Shiro sighed, a deep frown marring his features at the prospect of his love for Lance never truly being recognised in the eyes of the Seelie Court. 

“You’re forgetting something Shiro” Lance murmured, eyes flicking up to meet Shiro’s. “Marriage, no matter which Court the faeries belongs to, is absolute. It’s a binding contract that even the Court Elders can’t separate. I’m a Prince of the Seelie, you and your people would become one of us, regardless of your Unseelie blood”.

Shiro stared down at Lance, the silence as deafening as a roar of thunder, “You would do that for my people... I couldn’t ask you to jeopardise your happiness and your future, for us- for me”.

Lance shook his head with a sigh and raised his palm, pressing it to the side of Shiro’s face lovingly, his thumb rubbing across Shiro’s cheek until the Unseelie’s eyes fluttered close at the feeling and a soft, contented hum left his throat.

Putting a small amount of distance between them, Lance pulled his hand away from Shiro’s cheek and clasped Shiro’s hand between his palms, “Shiro, King of the Unseelie, I have chosen you to give my heart to. Will you accept it?”. Lance pulled away his palms, leaving behind a single, yellow daffodil in his place _(New Beginnings)_.

“Lance, Prince of the Seelie, I will accept your heart. As long as you accept mine in return” Shiro whispered, pressing a kiss to Lance’s lips, trying to convey as much emotion as he could.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi babes, thanks for reading! I hope you liked it ♥  
> ((and if you absolutely hated it I'm so sorry))   
> I have a Tumblr for my writing now, though it's a bit of a work in progress! You can read the drabbles that aren’t posted here on the Archive, send in requests or just drop in and say hi.  
> Right here: [(X)](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bluelionwrites)


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